Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Takes On Miami Saturday On ESPNU
1/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2007
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Deacons Return To South Florida Saturday For ACC Road Game At Miami
Wake Forest plays at Miami Saturday night (7:30 p.m./ESPNU) with a golden opportunity to put an end to some frustrating streaks.
The Demon Deacons, 8-5, have lost four straight road games and have not won an ACC road game since 2005.
Wake has not won in southern Florida since 2005, including a loss to South Florida in Tampa earlier this season and a loss to Miami in Coral Gables last season.
Most importantly, Wake Forest has an opportunity to even its ACC record. The Deacons are 0-1 after a Dec. 17 loss at Virginia Tech. They also have a chance to begin January 2-0 after beating visiting East Carolina 81-65 on Monday.
Wake Forest is led by senior center Kyle Visser (19.0 ppg and 8.2 rpg), who has put up All-American-type numbers so far. The 6-11 Visser is second in the ACC in scoring, ranks second in rebounding and third in field goal percentage.
Miami, 8-7 and 1-0, is coming off a 72-71 win at Massachusetts Wednesday night. Anthony Harris erupted for 33 points and Jack McClinton chipped in 15 points to lead the Hurricanes. Miami hit key free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Hurricanes have been led by McClinton, the surprising sophomore guard (18.7 ppg). McClinton ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring and he leads the league in three-point field goals (more than three per game).
Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 4-1. The Hurricanes won last season's only meeting, 78-69, in Coral Gables, for their first win in the series.
The Deacons and Hurricanes will meet again Feb. 17 in Winston-Salem.
Wake-Miami Game Features ACC's Most Improved And Most Surprising Players
Saturday's Wake Forest-Miami game features two of the ACC's most productive, highest-scoring players in Deacon senior Kyle Visser and Hurricane sophomore Jack McClinton.
Visser (19.0 ppg) ranks second in the ACC in scoring and McClinton (18.4 ppg) ranks fourth. Visser may be the league's most improved player, having dramatically increased his statistics over last season. McClinton is the ACC's biggest surprise. Hardly on the league radar before the season began, McClinton has emerged as one of the ACC's top offensive performers.
Deacons Back In South Florida
Wake Forest has spent more time in south Florida than in Winston-Salem since Christmas. The Deacons lost in Tampa to South Florida, 75-67, on Dec. 29. The Wake Forest team returned to the area Jan. 2 to watch the Deacon football team play in the FedEx Orange Bowl and have remained here all week.
Wake Forest is looking for its first win in south Florida since 2005 when it beat Miami in Coral Gables.
Miami's Haith A Former Deacon Assistant
Miami head coach Frank Haith has several ties to Wake Forest and the Winston-Salem area.
Haith began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant to Dave Odom in 1989-90, Odom's first season as Wake Forest's head coach. He returned to Wake Forest in 1997-98 and spent four seasons as a full-time Deacon assistant. During that time he helped Wake to four consecutive postseason appearances and helped recruit several key players including Josh Howard.
Haith, whose wife, Pam, once worked as an employee in the Deacon Club, grew up in Burlington (N.C.) and attended Elon.
